Tunnel between Santos and Guarujá includes discussions on improvements to access routes

One of the objectives of the Guarujá City Hall is to facilitate vehicle traffic, from the tunnel, toward Rodovia Cônego Domênico Rangoni (Alexsander Ferraz/AT)

A meeting regarding the land access routes to the Santos-Guarujá immersed tunnel, on the Left Bank of the Port of Santos, will take place on Thursday morning (7) at the office of the Autoridade Portuária de Santos (APS), in São Paulo.

The meeting was requested by the Mayor of Guarujá, Farid Madi (Pode). He and APS President Anderson Pomini will attend, along with technical staff from the City Hall and the federal public company. Representatives of the private concessionaire Mota-Engil, winner of the bidding process for the tunnel’s construction, may also participate.

The purpose of the meeting is precisely to improve the alignment of these access routes on the Guarujá side, in order to connect the tunnel with the existing expressways and also facilitate the flow of vehicles toward Rodovia Cônego Domênico Rangoni.

Within this context, the request is for a section of Avenida Santos Dumont to be included in the Port Polygonal Area, a matter that falls directly under the responsibility of the Ministério de Portos e Aeroportos (MPor), as already occurred with other areas in the Baixada Santista approved in February. APS also expects that other previously requested areas will soon be included.

If approved by the ministry, potential works to improve the access routes could receive federal funding, and expropriations would also be reduced — a concern raised by local residents to the Mayor of Guarujá.

“The tunnel needs to be aligned with our Port-City relationship goals”, stated APS President Anderson Pomini.

The project

The Santos-Guarujá immersed tunnel will have a total length of 1.5 km, including 870 meters underwater. It will feature three traffic lanes in each direction, in addition to a Light Rail Vehicle (VLT) system, a bicycle lane, and a pedestrian walkway. Construction will be carried out using precast concrete modules installed on the bed of the port channel.

The modules will then be submerged, connected, and covered with a layer of rocks. Construction is expected to begin in 2027 and be completed in 2030, with full operations scheduled to start in 2031.